Gods
"Saying your a god here, is a lot like saying you'd like eggs. It doesn't mean much and is often met with the same response... What type?" -Gate Commander stationed at The Last Stand. Gods in the realm come in every color of the rainbow, in fact they come in every shape and size too, and even where we to discount all colors, shapes, and sizes as methods of analogy, there would still be more god's than the average Colmlander can count. This is not, mind you, a commentary on Colmlander education, but rather a way to emphasize the sheer number of divine beings who walk among us. Not to diminish the lofty accomplishment, but becoming a god in the strictest definition is hardly a salient occaision. You're not invited to any special clubs, you're not stricken with flogs of pietous worshipers, and even gods have to pay thier bar tabs. No, what it means to be a god is less about what you're given, and more about what you have to give. Becoming a god means you've pushed past the normal barriers of what reality says a human can do, it means you are something so well you define''' it,''' and '''it '''defies expectation. This said there are several types of varieties of god that are seperated by natural condition, and several more that are broken down into socially defined classes. Archetypal Gods Archetypal gods represent the total summation of our collective perspectives. Forming at the fringes of our preconceptions they are conviction based entities who's power and influence is tied strongly into what we perceive them to be. Unlike the gods who exist because they need to, fulfilling and essential role, Archetypal gods exist simply because they choose to, actively taking up the mantle as the epitome of their craft. The more forcefully representive of their individual archetype a god is the more dominion they weild over those who attend to their influence. Champion A Champion is simply one who executes a skill so succinctly they bring it's preformance to a degree that defies conventional uses. This is often the case with the realms in habitants, as they are whom the modern age was named for. Becoming a Champion does not mean one needs to be skilled in any field of repute, even a trifle thing such as tieing a shoelace can make one a Champion. Imagine a being who ties their shoelaces so phenomenally well that they learn to tie their laces to the very ley lines that cross the realm, making it impossible for one to get lost when crossing fairy roads, truly he would be a knotter without equal. Skill God A Skill god is a practioner of a skill who manages to become so masterful and dynamic in that skills preformance that they come to redifine what the skill means. Not only will there efforts make a mark, but their sure to leave a lasting effect on the Realm, at least until another practioner takes the skill further than previously established. Attaining skill godhood, while it might be nothing more than a champion who takes things a little farther than the previous champ, is a definitive change in the existence of that champion. While capable of being physically, mentally, and even spiritually destroyed the root of the skill god's essence is interwoven with the skill he embodies, meaning that as long as his soul resides in the Realm he lords over, he's as integrally connected to the realm as the skill he represents and therefore as the realm needs him so shall he return. The status of his condition is subject to circumstance however. Paragon A Paragon or class god, or as sometimes refered to as a multiple skill god, is a being who has attained Skill Godhood in enough areas that they can form a coherrent archetype, or fill a pantheon role, thus defining and representing a specific aspect of realm existence. Like the term champion, this merely a subjective matter, not usually debated among the parties in question, if you claim to be the Class god of cross-stiching fruit-jugglers who am I to disagree. Apotheosis A distinction is made however when one reaches Apotheosis, or alternatively Infinite Class God. This is a being who has not only attained godhood in multiple skills, but has managed to push the entire archetype beyond the bounds of any who came before. To not only define what it means in the current age but to define the defintion truer than any who came before. The Apotheosis of an aspect not only exists as long as that aspect exists, but wields control over that aspect and to an extent control over any whose faith they rely on. When Tiller the Apotheosis of Smithing wants silence, the conviction of his pietous metal-workers shall let no anvil in the Realm ring, when he yearns for fine craftsmanship their faith makes the forge burn hotter and the metal fold surer than any time before, and when he calls for a day of rest no forge shall be lit without great difficulty. This is the highest known form of Archetypal Godhood. Attributal Gods Attributal gods in juxtaposition to Archetypal gods exist not because they embody ideals, but rather exist because existence demands it. In this way they are less gods and more the pillars on which the Realms stand. An Attributal, sometimes referred to as a Foundational god, are the product of a sentient being attaining such mastery over an essential facet of existence that they break the barriers of possibility. In this gap, the wells of Aro, that produce these facets rush to fill the void fusing themselves with the beings in question. After the transition an Attributal god finds himself the unconsenting bearer of all the world's traits, and total dominion over the production of their specific brand of aspect.